I'm a philosopher in the oldest sense of the word, that is to say,
I love learning. I spend most days trying to take in as much
knowledge as I can from any source that I can manage, and that (I
think) is a pretty decent summary of who I am.

Also, and this is pretty important to note, while I'm probably a
bit too wordy with my writing (and I admit that I tend to ramble),
I'm not like this in person. Promise.

I work full time at a startup in San Francisco, and I go to school
part-time. I want to get my Associates in Computer Science and then
a Bachelor's in Game Design within the next 3 years. I also want a
Mastiff/St. Bernard/Newfoundland named Brutus/Rufus. This is almost
as important as a college degree for me.

I also do wood carving, and hope to eventually make my own shitty
furniture.

I spent a lot of time in the past fronting bands, and after high
school I got into a music school to pursue further vocal training.
My goals and plans eventually shifted, but at the very least I've
been groomed to have an exceptional karaoke voice.

My beard. It's soft, a bit curly, and it changes colors depending
on the state of the sun. When old ladies walk up to you, pet and
compliment your beard, and saunter off into the sunset you know
either you're doing something right or those old ladies are high.
One of the two, there is no middle ground here.

Authors
Pretty much anything ever written by Kurt Vonnegut is amazing. I spent
two months working at a Polish sandwich shop where all I did was
read everything Vonnegut ever wrote for 9 hours a day...it was a
dark yet enlightening time for me. Other favourites include
Fyodor
Dostoevsky and George R. R. Martin, the
former I forgive for his long rants about religion and the latter I
forgive for his awkwardly detailed sex scenes. Right now I'm
systematically listening to every Terry Pratchett audio book ever
made, and loving every second of it.

Foodstuffs
Pulled pork/carnitas are amazing. I make them from time to time
with my crock-pot. Also, oddly enough, I like Brussels sprouts. Cut
them in half, stick them on a cookie tray, lather with olive oil,
salt and pepper and bake them. So good. Final fun food fact: pecan
crust pumpkin pie will blow your mind.

1. My shitty car
I have a bad history with cars and accidents that may or may not
involve blocking four lanes on 680 during morning rush hour. My
shitty car helps me not feel bad about potentially throwing away
money on a good car only to destroy it in a ball of fire and
sadness.

2. Routine
Kind of. It's not as boring as it sounds, really. I like mixing
things up, I just really like getting myself into the right frame
of mind to do certain things. Case in point, I get to work a half
an hour early so I can grab a coffee and read my
emails/reddit/watch my Youtube subscriptions. It gets me mentally
prepped for the day.

3. My Youtube Subscriptions
I love them. I use Youtube as a way to learn more about the world,
to dive deeper into the things I'm most passionate about, and to
boldly view more pet-related adorable videos than my forefathers
dared to even dream.

4. My forefathers
Thanks for the assist.

5. A kick in the ass
Look, I'm a motivated individual, really. I just tend to be more
motivated about things that are right in front of my face,
long-term consequences be damned. Sometimes I just need a good kick
in the ass to get me re-focused.

6. Conditioner
This beard doesn't stay soft by itself. Conditioner goes in, and
the world reaps the benefits.

Recently? I spend a lot of time thinking about linguistics and
rhetoric, and how much they matter in our day to day lives. I think
about what it means to be an ethical person, what it means to know
something, what truth is and how you can possibly determine whether
something is true. Furthermore, is telling the truth an inherently
good act, or are there situations where it'd be unethical? And
wouldn't Schindler's List be 5 times better if it starred Donald
Glover instead of Liam Neeson?

Ideally I'm in Berkeley having a beer and playing some
seemingly-random-but-probably-European board game (games in this
category include such classics as Settlers of Catan and
That-Game-Where-Everyone-Builds-A-Farm-Together). After a couple
hours and much tearing of hair we head to the nearest delicious
restaurant (of which there are many) and eat [Insert Delicious
Foodstuffs] over conversations that, while on the whole quite
chipper and fun, seem to steadily steer themselves towards darker
comedic tones and topics until properly corrected by [Insert
Socially Responsible Person].

Then it's off to karaoke, and I get roped into a duet I only
kinda-sorta know the words/melody to which doesn't seem to
embarrass me too much because, at the end of the day, nobody gives
a shit. It's a grand old time.

If you want to teach me anything new. I love learning for
learning's sake, as long as the lesson doesn't represent a clear
and present danger to myself or parts of myself that I'd really
miss.

If you want to get four other people together to play the Game of
Thrones board game. So much fun. (Disclaimer: the first game will
take 4 hours. Be mentally and physically prepared.) (Double
Disclaimer: Really, though. It's intense.)

If you are confused about whether or not I am in fact a duck. While
I assure you I am most certainly not, I understand that some of you
may not take me at my word. I will do my best to allay your
suspicions.